Michael Thomét
Game Designer
Phaeton

This is a short adaptation of a cursory glance at the myth of Phaeton, the son of Helios who nearly destroyed the world, and the hypothetical planet that the myth was probably referring to. In this game, take on the role of the often overlooked Pluto who must do everything to prevent being hurtled into the sun (and avoid being smashed to bits by asteroids).

Phaeton was developed in 48 hours for Ludum Dare 38 "A Small World". See its jam page here. I spent more time than I probably should have making properly proportioned planets and a realistically-timed orbits. Still, I enjoy making games that reference something a bit off the beaten path, like the myth of Phaeton. Plus, when the theme was announced, I knew I wanted to make a game about Pluto, and how it got to be so small.

You can play the game here (opens in a new window). *Not Recommended!*

You can download it for Windows as a 32-bit program or a 64-bit program.

There is also a largely untested Mac version here. (All reports indicate that it is a working build.)

Phaeton was made with Unity3D. The web port lost a lot of quality, so please play a standalone version if at all possible.